Touring Lyon with Viking

The worldly city of Lyon is a great place to start a cruise. There is a mix of cosmopoli­tan and small town feel just a few blocks apart. Lyon is France’s third largest city and straddles the Rhône and Saône Rivers and includes a narrow peninsula island called the Presqu’ile. As you visit the old city of Lyon, you will see many reminders of its Roman origins, including the Famous Roman Theatre on top of Fourvière Hill, founded in 43 BC by the Romans.

Over the centuries, Lyon has enjoyed eco­nomic prosperity, including being one of the most active printing centres in Europe in the 1 5th century and then the silk manufac­turing capital of Europe in the 1 7th century. You can visit many boutiques that still pro­duce exceptional silk products.

Included in your Viking city tour is a drive by the many outdoor painted walls, such as the “Fresque des Lyonnais”. These are murals that depict all the famous people from Lyon, from antiquity with Emperor Claudius, through modern times with fig­ures including Paul Bocuse and the Lumière family, known for having shot the first mov­ing picture and responsible for Lyons world famous lumière festival.

The tour closes with a walk in the old city. Visitors enjoy the little hidden Traboules (passageways made for merchants in medieval times) and the choice of world renowned Bouchon restaurants, known for serving traditional Lyonnaise cuisine of sausages, duck pâté and roast pork. You will not go hungry in Lyon, which is known as France’s gastronomic capital!

In the afternoon you can choose from two optional tours. There is a Lyon cooking workshop where you can learn the secrets to making fine pastries by a French pastry Chef, or choose a tour to the timeless Town of Pérouges, a medieval stone village locat­ed some 30km northeast of Lyon as we did. Perched on a small hill, Pérouges enjoys an outstanding view overlooking the French Alps. Founded around 1167 by a Gallic colony, Pérouges was a craftsmen com­mune, particularly farmers and linen weavers. Complete with cobble stone streets, you can’t help but be transported back though time. Pérouges is also where the famous three musketeers’ movie was filmed.

There is plenty worth exploring in and around Lyon that it needs more time or a second visit. Places of interest include the heritage-laden Musée des Beaux Arts, Quartier Saint-Jean and Quartier Saint- Georges the old town, the beautiful archi­tecture and monumental town squares of the Presqu’ile District and the Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere.